Maximus Ride
by Romitri.Fax.Clace
Summary: Basically this is Maximum Ride with a few changes: the big change being Max and Fang...are opposite genders. I switched the storyline a little; added a few things in, took a few things out. It follows the storyline for the most part-will probably end at 'The Final Warning'. OOC for Max and Fang (Obviously) Rated T for now-for slight language and violence (Obviously).
1. Oops, Got Side Tracked

**This story is going to be a little different. Basically, Max and Fang are going to switch rolls… Well, actually, they are switching genders. Everyone else will be pretty much the same. But when it comes to the later books, you'll see a few changes again.**

 **I won't give too much detail and ruin the story, but it's going to follow the original storyline of the books, but with a few changes. I'll probably some-up half a book in each chapter, and I don't think I'm going to go any farther than** ** _The Final Warning_** **; but we will see! And I'll probably cut out a few minor things and add some ideas of my own.**

 **Also, Max and Fang will have slightly different personalities, being that they are now opposite genders from the books.**

 **Her we go!**

 **…**

 **Title:** Maximus Ride

 **Rated:** T (subject to change)

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the original Maximum Ride characters. But I think I own the new and…switched, characters. (I'm not really sure how that works.)

 **Chapter One:** Oops, Got Side Tracked

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

 **Max**

"Aah!"

I bolted up in bed panting. My heart was beating hundred miles a minute, a thin layer of sweat coated my forehead and the back of my neck. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes then ran I hand through my dirty blonde hair.

 _'…I had that dream again… Weird.'_

It's always the same: I'm running through the woods being chased my 'monsters', and when I come to this cliff…I jump. Sometimes I'm being shot at, though the bullets never land a hit, and sometimes There's dogs running after me, too. But it always ends with the cliff.

After a couple of deep breaths, I forced myself out of bed and patted over to the open window. I stretched out my muscles and leaned against the window pane, enjoying the view of the mountain side. A nice breeze came through the mountains and for a minute it was peaceful. Life has been hard for us bird-kids, but fresh air always seems to help clear my mind.

My name is Maximus Ride—but my family calls me Max. I'm about 14-years-old and I have wings. We all do. My family and I were all genetically designed. We have bird DNA grafted with our human DNA and— Bam! You've got a bird-kid with wings. We also have lighter bone and air sack so we can fly at high altitudes. (The wings aren't just for show, people.) We've been living on the run for the past few years. It's been…quiet. Maybe too quiet…?

I sighed and closed the window. "Better wake the troops."

I grabbed my pants from the floor and ruffled through the dresser until I came across one of my shirts and pulled it over my head.

The room next to mine was the one Iggy and The Gasman shared. I stopped in there first, pushing the door open.

"Iggy, wake up. We need breakfast." I walked over to his bed and kicked the mattress roughly, making it jolt.

The strawberry blonde pulled his head from the pillow and squinted 'at me' through one eye.

"…M'kay," he mumbled and flopped back down, snoring lightly.

I rolled my eyes and walked to the other bed. "Gasman. Up and at 'em, bud."

He jerked his head up, drool hanging from the corner of his mouth, looking around wildly like a spooked animal. "H-Huh…? What? I'm…awake…!" he said between a yawn, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "'Morning, Max. What's for breakfast?"

A small smile tugged at my lips. _'Always thinking with his stomach.'_ I ruffled his already messy golden-blonde hair. "Well, if you can get Iggy up, I'll be both impressed and grateful."

He smiled brightly and gave me a salute. "I'm on it!" he promised, suddenly wide awake. He hobbled off his bed to Iggy's and without hesitation—or remorse—he took a small leap in the air and came straight down on Iggy.

I chuckled and quickly crept out as yelling and wrestling ensued.

Those boys went together like peanut butter and jelly; completely inseparable. Iggy is fourteen like me, and The Gasman—Gazzy—is eigth. Even though Iggy's blind and Gazzy is still a young kid, they manage to find dangerous 'hobbies' to bond over. Those hobbies involving any sort of chemical they can find to create bombs and explosives.

The next door across the hall was Fang's. She's also fourteen like me and Iggy. I'm technically the oldest and or leader. The next oldest is Fang, and then Iggy. She's also, in a way, mute. We rarely heard her talk, and she moved like a freaking ninja when she walked: silent and deadly. Everything about Fang was 'dark'. Tanned olive skin, jet black hair that reached her lower back, dark eyes, and—get this!—she wears black clothes. Strictly black clothes. To top if off, she wears all black clothing. (Iggy called her 'Emo-Girl' one time last year, and she almost tied his wings together and threw him out the window that faced a 200 foot drop into the forest below.) Who would have thought, right?

Her room was dark—of course—and the door was cracked open a few inches.

I raised my hand to rap my knuckle against the door when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I felt the muscles in my body stiffen and snapped around, glaring at the girl in front of me.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" I yelled, trying to calm my heart rate.

She looked up at me, her dark, almost black eyes meeting mine before she shrugged and walked past me into her room. She smelled of shampoo and her long black hair was combed back and slick.

 _'Must have been in the shower,'_ I thought, and then immediately shook my head, stopping my train of thought before it de-railed.

She pulled her black combat boots from her closet, slipped her feet into them and then laced them up.

"I've got Gazzy and Iggy up," I stated, taking a look around her dark room.

She finished with her boots and grabbed her worn, [black] leather jacket from her bed. Then she turned to me and tapped her ear twice, which meant that she could hear that. If she was in one of her 'moods' that motion would have translated to 'I'm not deaf', or something else along those lines.

I tried not to smile. "So, you want to get the girls up, or should I?"

She gave a wave of her hand, as if to brush me off as she walked by toward their room. That meant she was going to get them up. I couldn't resist.

I put my hand to my ear and said, "I'm sorry what was that? Speak up. I can't hear you."

She made a very rude gesture with one of her fingers. I laughed and followed her to the end of the hall.

The last room at the end of the hallway belonged to the other members of our family—Nudge and Angel. Nudge is our motor-mouth; as in when she starts talking, it's hard to get her to stop. She and Angel are close, despite the age difference; Nudge is twelve and Angel is six. Angel sits and listens to Nudge talk and talk until the girl is blue in the face, whereas the rest of us would have stopped her long before then.

I followed Fang to the room and leaned against the doorframe as she shook Nudge awake, who grumbled something along the lines of 'what time is it?', and hoisted her up from the bed. From the other end of the room, the curtains grew back slightly from Angel's bed canopy and her golden-blonde head popped out from between them.

"I'm already up, Fang!" she said cheerfully, and without missing a beat, and smiled at me. "Good morning, Max!"

I couldn't help but smile a little. "Good morning, Ang."

Angel was… Well, an angel. Being so young and going through what we went through as kids, I'm glad she wasn't old enough to remember anything. I couldn't bare knowing what we know and thinking that Angel would have gone through that too if Jeb, our sudo-father, hadn't broken us out.

Angel bounded from her bed and ran up to me. I quickly knelt down and grabbed her in a hug. She small arms wrapped around my neck and squeezed as she gave my cheek a quick peck. She was so sweet; and since I practically raised her since she was a baby she was like my own kid.

"I love you, too, Max," she whispered, smiling.

I pulled back from our hug and gave a small chuckle. "Oops. You read my mind again." I put my finger to my lips in a 'shh' motion. "That's going to be our little secret, okay?"

"Okay!"

Down stairs, Iggy was cooking what was left of our stash of food that we bought with the last of our money. Gazzy poured everyone a glass of juice, which there wasn't a lot of, while Fang waited for Iggy to dish food out on plates for everyone. Nudge's motor-mouth was going on about her hair and clothes, and Angel was playing with her doll next to Nudge.

While everyone talked and ate, I thought about what our next move will be. We are completely out of food, and our money situation was laughable. If Jeb hadn't disappeared, I bet we would be in better shape, but…that's not the case. He just up and disappeared one day two years ago. There was a large about of food and supplies left for us and enough cash for more food when we needed it. However, I don't think factored in that we eat almost 3-times as the average adult and don't do well with sitting still. (At least I do; I hate being still for too long.)

"Max?"

Nudge's voice broke me from my thoughts. "Y-Yeah? Sorry, was just thinking. What did you say?"

She looked like she wanted to say something smart, but must have decided it wasn't worth it. Good girl.

"Max, I want to pick strawberries today!" Angel announced. "They're ripe now, right?"

Before I could get a word in, Angel's suggestion to go strawberry picking got everyone else fired up. Especially Gazzy.

"I'll go with you, Angel!"

When he stood up, the sound of the chair scraping against the floor when he pushed it backwards mostly masked the sound of his fart…but couldn't possibly mask the smell.

"…Done…" Fang said quickly, but I almost didn't catch it amongst the groans and hacking coming from everyone else. I doubt the others knew she said anything at all.

"Good God…" Nudge groaned, hacking lightly.

"Gas…mask…!" Iggy choked, covering his sensitive nose.

Angel just made a face of disgust and stayed quiet.

And now you know why we call him The Gasman.

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

Upon arriving at the fields in a clearing about a mile from the house, Gazzy and Angel ran out to the closest pack of wild strawberries and started picking. Nudge led Iggy over to a patch farther up, taking his hand and showing him where the strawberries were. Fang and I watched for a moment before finding our own wild fruit to pick.

I munched on a few strawberries and wondered over to each kid to check their progress. Angel, Gazzy and Nudge seemed to be having the most fun, making it a contest to see who could fill their baskets the most. Fang stood idly by, once in a while popping a small strawberry in her mouth. Eventually she was helping Nudge will up her basket.

"Max? Do you think you can make a cake and we can eat our strawberries with it?" Angel asked, rifling through her large batch of berries.

My mind immediately went to our mostly empty pantry with barely anything to bake with. Before I could answer, I heard our designated cook/chef say:

"Yeah, right! Don't worry, Angel, I'll make a cake for you."

I turned and glared daggers at Iggy, who automatically held his hands up in surrender. "Alright! We get it! I'm not fantastic cook. You don't have to rub it in."

Iggy looked confused, and was suspiciously innocent. Then I heard giggles coming from where Gazzy was—on his knees a few feet behind Iggy.

Before he knew what was happening, I had him in a headlock, rubbing my fist into his hair. "What did I say about mimicking people?"

"Ow, ow! Okay!" he cried, but didn't wipe the smirk off his face.

As soon as I released the blonde brat, he scrabbled away, nursing the wound on top of his head.

"They're glad you care," Angel said, that small bright smile from earlier this morning on her face. "They hadn't had anyone who cares for them like you do, Max."

I knelt down and poked her small nose with the end of my index finger, smiling right along with her. "You're too sweet for your own good, Angel."

After a few seconds, her smile slowly vanished and she stopping in the middle of picking a berry.

"Max, do you love us?"

I almost fell backwards from my crouched position. I looked at her, completely taken off guard by her question. I felt my brows pull together. "Of course I do, Angel. Why would you ask that all of a sudden?"

She was staring down at the basket of berries of various sizes that lay in her lap, suddenly finding them very fascinating. "So…you won't leave us? Not like…?" A small tear formed in her eye, threatening to fall down her pink cheeks.

 _'…Like Jeb.'_

Jeb was a mystery to us. We don't fully know why he took us from The School brought us the E-shaped house, especially since he would there as a scientist himself. He always just told us that we were special, and that he would take care of us. When he disappeared without a trace, it broke our hearts. Six kids thrown into a world they barely understand; no one would expect good results from that. But we're alive. For now.

"Oh, Ang…" I pulled her in my lap, strawberries and all, and enveloped her in a hug. "I…I don't get why Jeb left us like he did, either, but I would never leave you behind."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes. "…Okay."

That's where the peaceful day came to an end.

"How sweet…"

I immediately tensed. A voice that didn't belong to any of us came from behind me. I slowly turned and looked over my shoulder, but I already knew what I would find when I did look up.

"…Erasers!"

One of the hybrid-wolfs leered down at me, claws ready to attack and kill. Erasers are the bane of our existence—the reason they were created with to hunt and kill kids like us, or to just keep up in line. And we rarely win in a fare fight against them.

The Eraser behind me took a swipe at my head. Abandoning the basket of berries we painstakingly collected, I held Angel close and rolled farther down the hill, making her yelp in fear. Three more came at us, and before I could get my bearings again, one reached out and grabbed Angel, yanking her from my arms.

"Max!"

"Angel—" Quick as lightning, one of the heels of a large boot connected with my cheek and knocked me aside, sending me down to the base of the hill.

I heard the others fighting their hardest to get Angel as she cried for help, but the Erasers were too fast and too strong, and there were at least twenty of them. Fang was charging down the hill toward us. She was going to rush him, but others intercepted her, slowing her descent down the hill.

I tasted blood on my tongue from where the Eraser kicked me. That same one stood over me, snickering as he shover a crying Angel in a sack and tossed her over his shoulder.

Before I could get up, the Eraser held his boot to my throat. I pushed against his weight and relieved a tiny bit of the pressure, but not enough. As I struggled for the upper hand, I remembered I had a knife tucked in my boot. If I could just reach that, then maybe…

"I can't believe you didn't put up more of a fight," he snarled, tossing Angel to another Eraser nearby.

"Max!" Angel screamed, her panicked cries getting father and farther away as the Erasers left.

"This was too easy. Jeb would be disappointed in you. And here I though you were his favorite son, Max?"

I squinted and peered up at him, and suddenly an image of a kid—Jeb's biological son—flashed in my mind.

"A-Ari…?" I choked up, barely able to get the words past my lips.

He smirked and removed his boot from my throat. I immediately started gasping for breath and coughing, turning away from him as a feeble attempt to get away. "You're all pathetic. Until next time, Maxy!"

All I could do was struggle to stand and try and catch my breath. It felt like my lungs were on fire.

"Max! Fang!" I barely registered Nudge's voice from her airborne position. When I looked up I saw what was left of my Flock in the air. All except…

I caught a flash of her black out of the corner of my eye.

"Fang, don't!"

But it was too late.

With all the speed she could muster in her legs she rushed Ari and jumped in the air, swinging her leg out. At first it looked like he hadn't noticed her, what with her being extremely quiet when she runs or moves. Without looking and with one swift movement of his arm, Ari had Fang's ankle tightly clenched in his claws. And half a second later, he spin and threw Fang through the air and right at me. I got up just in time for her back to crash hard into my chest.

"Oof!"

She grunted upon impact, and with sheer force that Ari threw her body knocked what little air there was from my lungs as we tumbled over again. I felt my head connect with the ground—hard. Everything started to blur, and I couldn't keep my eyes open. I felt Fang shaking me, but I couldn't respond.

 _'Angel…'_ I thought, before completely blacking out.

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

Back at the E-house, no one spoke.

No one had said one word since we got back a half hour ago. I already saw to everyone's injuries. The others just had fat lips, a couple of bruises and a black eye or two. Nothing that wouldn't heal in about a day. It looks like Fang and I took the brunt of their force; we were the worst off. I had a splitting headache and possibly a bruised rib where Fang hit me in the chest, and a bruise on my neck (according to Nudge). Fang had a split lip and a gash on her cheek. She wasn't flying too well on our way back to the house, so something must have happened to her wing when she crashed into me.

From the silence, Iggy suddenly started shouting. "This sucks!" He clenched his fist and whipped the clean dishes off the counted and they went right to the floor. All expect an empty cup, which hurdled right toward Fang, who was busy massaging her forehead with her left hand.

Nudge gasped. "Fang! Watch out!"

Without showing any sign of surprise, she snatched the up out of the air with her right hand.

She glared at Iggy, which was wasted on him. "Watch it, idiot."

But he just raised his voice more. " _You_ watch it! What the hell happened out there?! Why couldn't we get Angel back?"

"There were too many of them," Gazzy said, wiping a tear from his eye. "And they took off in a chopper."

I growled in annoyance. "So what?! We can fly, can't we? Why didn't we go after them?"

No one answered.

I knew what he wanted to say, what he was thinking; I was thinking the same thing myself.

 _This was all my fault._

If I hadn't let my guard down so much—if I hadn't thought we were safe—Angel would still be here. I was weak. Some leader I was. I was completely useless to Angel and the others…

When they finally got me to wake up, everyone looked scared and confused, but more broken than anything. I didn't even have to ask what happened. I knew the Erasers had gotten away; they had taken my baby from me. All because I couldn't take a few punches and got knocked out.

Ari was right… I was pathetic.

But I was done. I was done being tossed around like a rag doll. I was done with scientists and Erasers and whatever else they send to hurt my Flock—my family. And I was done being weak and pathetic.

"We've got to get her back!" Gazzy announced, slamming his small but powerful fists on the table, startling Nudge and Iggy.

Nudge had tears in her eyes. "But how? We don't even know where they took her."

At some point, Fang had disappeared and reappeared with a fold. "Yes, we do." She threw the file on the table; papers, documents and a map scattered across the worn-out wood.

I took a deep breath, and spoke for the first time in an hour. "The School." I nodded, agreeing with Fang. "That's where they took her. Where else would they go but back to the place we were created. To them, we are their property. Jeb wasn't supposed to take us away, and they what they think is theirs."

Timidly, Nudge said, "But…why just Angel? Why not take all of us?"

I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest. "I don't know, Nudge. But we aren't letting Angel go through the crap experiments they did to us."

They all nodded in agreement, a new fire of determination lit in their expressions.

I felt a grin tug at my lips. "Good. Now that we are all on board." I shuffled through the papers from Jeb's office. I pulled out a folded map and spread it on the table. In the center of the map was a circled location: Death Valley, a.k.a. The School.

"Let's go get Angel back. We leave in an hour."

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

Through the hour that we spent looking at the documents, we routed the best way to get to Death Valley, and the best places to stop for breaks and food. We weren't even in the sky for a few house and I heard:

"Are we there yet?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's been an hour, Gaz. We still have a long way to go."

"So, what are we going to do when we get there?" Iggy asked, flying closer. "It's not like we can walk up to the front door and say we're delving a pizza."

I scratched the back of my head. "Well, I don't know about the pizza part, but we could do that. Theoretically."

I heard a snort of disapproval from somewhere behind me.

I looked back to glare at our dark mistress. "Excuse me for not having a fantastic plan on the fly! No pun intended."

She shrugged, unaffected by my glare.

After a few minutes of flying in silence, I tapped the end of Iggy's feathers with mine. "On the bright side, not many people can say they can soar through the sky without using a plane or something. Flying is pretty freaking cool!"

The younger ones cheered in agreement, and much to Nudge's dismay, Iggy and Gasman decided to start wrestling in the sky. If we weren't on the run for our lives and on our way to rescue our youngest Flock member, I would say this was pretty peaceful.

Not long after that, I heard shouting coming from far below, thanks to my sharp senses. With my raptor eye sight, I saw what looked like a couple of guys roughing up a young girl about Nudge's age.

"Fang." I motioned down below us where the girl was being cornered in an unfair fight.

She took one glance and shot me a look. "No."

I glanced down again. One of the guys started advancing on the girl.

"It'll be quick," I insisted, already prepping myself for the drop down.

"Max…" Fang warned, but since when do I do as I'm told.

"Keep going without me!" I called to the others ahead of us, ignoring Fang's heated glare. They looked back, confused. "I've got something to take care of."

I angled down and started a nose dive for the ground.

"Max!"

"Where are you going?"

"I'll meet you guys at Lake Mead. Wait for me there!"I called back.

When I made it to the ground, I looked up and saw that they were continuing on without me. Good. Even though I don't take orders from them, I'm sure glad they listen to me.

I tucked my light brown wings behind my back and zipped my jacket closed again.

"Can't even tell I'm a mutant freak."

"Hey! Knock it off, you jerks!"

I peered over the top of the building where I stood. There was that girl, and it looked like she wasn't gaining any ground on whatever they were arguing about.

"What are you going to do, Ella?" one of them sneered, taking another step toward her. "Blab to someone again. Why did you have to go and tell someone about my situation with Ortiz? That was my business, and look what happened. I had to teach him a lesson."

She took a step back as he advanced, but her back hit the wall of the building I was on.

 _'It's only about 20 feet,'_ I thought, weighting my options. _'That'll be nothing for me.'_

"By beating him up?" she countered. "He looks like he got hit by a car! And he didn't do anything to you, José!"

Something in the guy's self-control snapped. "I told you to shit it!"

Before I could change my mind, I loomed over the edge and stepped off. When my feet touched the ground with a loud THUD,everyone jumped in surprise.

"What the—?"

"How about you pick on someone your own size?" I cut in, standing up to my full height and crossing my arms over my chest. The bruised rib from earlier screamed at me, but I ignored it.

"Who is this guy, Ella?" the guy with the big mouth asked. "Another friend you go crying to?"

"Hm. Three guys against one. Seems about even," I mocked.

The other two guys flanked their friend, ready to take me on.

"You better watch your mouth if you know what's good for you!" the José guy said, and ran at me, his fist cocked behind him.

His form and movements were sloppy and easy to read. Without missing a beat, I grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, hard enough to make yelp in pain and then through him into the nearby fence. His friends hesitated, taking timid steps back.

"What's up with you, dude?"

"You've got nothing to do with this!"

I huffed, annoyed with these guys. "Picking on innocent girls isn't something I'd write in my resumé, if I were you guys."

"Grab that guy," José growled, standing to his feet, his back to me. "You'll regret butting into other people's business."

I smirked. "Bet I won't."

"Oh, I'm sure you'd loose that bet…" When José turned around, I saw he was holding a gun, and he looked like he had no idea how to use it, which made him all the more dangerous.

My smirk immediately vanished.

"Shit." I turned to the girl, Ella. "Run! Get out of here!"

Frightened, she took off toward the street, and just as José started toward me, I ran in the opposite direction toward the woods.

"Get him!" I heard feet pounding the ground behind me as I dodged around a tree. They were nowhere near as fast as I was, but I didn't want them to backtrack and go after Ella again. Especially with José waving that damn gun around like an idiot.

Just as I put my back to the tree, attempting to hide, I heard a shot fire off and the bullet nicked the tree right by my face.

"This ain't a toy, idiot! I'll have to teach you a lesson now that you've interfered with my business."

"That damn gun… This guy's crazy!" I pushed off the tree and darted farther into the trees.

"There he is!" one of José's buddies called, and another shot rang in my ears.

That one missed, but just barely.

A few meter later, I came to a cliff edge. My wings twitched instinctively, but I hesitated. "I can't fly in front of them…!"

I looked down. _'it's not a long fall. If I slide down the edge of the cliffside I should be good. Maybe…'_

I hear their food steps start to run by. As I turned to run a different direction, my foot slipped and I caught the tree before I fell backwards over the cliffside. The sound, however, alerted José to my location.

The blonde idiot ran out from behind a tree, aimed the gun, and fired…

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

 **Fang**

 _'Stupid Max and his stupid ideas.'_ I sighed. _'I guess I can't be too mad. He's doing what he thinks is right. But that wasn't our business to get involved in. He better make it quick, or I'll kick his ass.'_

I looked back at the others. They looked tired, but we were almost to Lake Mead.

I gave a loud, short whistle, getting their attention, and then motioned ahead.

Gazzy and Nudge cheered.

"Someone wanna clue me in?" Iggy asked, looking confused.

"Where almost there!" Gazzy told him. "I can almost see the lake."

Iggy sighed. "Thank God. I'm exhausted."

I nodded, even though he couldn't see it. I was also tired, and my wing has been bothering me since our encounter with Ari. Its worse now that'd we've been flying for over almost a little over two hours.

When we finally made it to the caves that overlooked the Lake Mead, we touched down and if the others weren't here, I would have collapsed right then and there. My body was sore and beaten, and I wanted nothing more then a nap.

"Phew! I'm tired!" Gazzy did exactly what I wanted to do. His arms cradled his head as he laid back and sighed.

"Fang, I'm hungry, you know?" Nudge said, looking around the cave.

I slipped my pack off my back, rummaged through it, and pulled out a few chocolate bars. "Here."

The squeal of excitement that came from Nudge's mouth was almost unbearable. "Is this chocolate? Yum! Where did you get this? Have you been hiding it?" Nudge asked, quickly taking a bite of her chocolate bar.

Iggy looked like he was in pain, holding his sensitive ears. Gazzy and I both cringed.

I tossed one to Gazzy, and then to Iggy. His chocolate bar hit him in the back of the head, which he did not appreciate.

I fought back a smile when he glared in my direction.

She munched for a minute and the spoke up again. "Hey, Fang?"

I raised a brow in question, gnawing on my candy bar.

"Where'd Max go? Why'd he go down there?"

"Yeah, why did we split up?" Gazzy asked.

"I doubt this was planned, Gazzers," Iggy offered as an answer.

"He saw someone in trouble. Went to help," I answered.

Nudge looked thoughtful. "Yeah, that sounds like something Max would do."

She walked to the cave entrance, still muting happily on her candy bar. There was a few moments of peaceful silence, the only sound that could be heard was crinkling wrappers and moans of delight from Gazzy. Then:

"Um…Fang…?"

Curious, I got up to see what she was looking at, my chocolate bar now gone. When I saw what she saw, I froze right next to her. Iggy and Gazzy were ready to get up and follow.

"Stay there."

The Gasman and Iggy stopped, both now on their feet.

"They're Ferruginous Hawks. Largest raptors in the states," I told them. "Don't move, or we're all bird food."

That statement could have been laughable, if it wasn't for the very serious situation we were in. These birds responded to movement; they're predators. There's no telling what could set them off and attack. Especially with baby chicks in their nest.

Slowly, I unfurled one of my wings, letting the wind graze my feathers.

"Fang? What are you…?" Nudged asked in a hushed tone.

"Letting them catch my scent."

It was along shot, but if they knew that we were like them—sort of—they won't feel like they have to attack unless truly threatened. For a long minute, we waited. Then one of the Hawks spread it's wings wide, startling Nudge. I was ready to shove her into the cave if it was going to attack us. But instead, it took to the air and flew out over the lake. It was almost like it knew we didn't know everything about flying, and was trying to show us some moves.

"Wow…" Nudge said in awe.

"I think they like us," Gazzy said with a smile.

A grin tugged at my lips. "Let's go for fly, too."

We flew around with the hawks until the sun went down. I shouldn't have gone out because of my wing, but it wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to learn something new and improve my flying.

We each pulled a small blanket from our packs. Gazzy was already passed out, curled up against the wall of the cave. Iggy yawned. Nudge was standing dazed at the mouth of the cave, looking up at the hawks.

I gave a low, soft whistle. "Nudge. Come sleep."

She turned and walked over to where the rest of us were laying. Still in a daze, she almost bionically grabbed her blanket I held out to her and laid down. I sat with my back against the cave wall. My whole body sighed with relief.

Another second of silence.

"Fang… These birds…" She sniffled. "These dumb birds have more of another than I ever had."

 _'Well, she's not wrong,'_ I thought.

With a quick glance at Iggy, it looked like he already passed out next to Gazzy. I scooted closer to Nudge, still leaning against the wall. I rested my hand on her head, smoothing her hair back soothingly. I knew the guys were aware that I favored the girls over them, but they had Max to be their rock. Sometimes…girls need comfort from other girls.

"The parents are taking of and protecting their babies. No one has ever done that for me." She paused. "Well, except Max. But he's not a dad, you know?"

I nodded, reaching down and taking her hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"I know, Nudge," I said quietly. I lightly pulled her to my side; her head fell into my lap. "But…you don't need parents. You've got us."

She just signed. Soon, she was relaxed, and her tears stopped falling.

"Fang. You have a pretty voice… Why don't you…talk anymore?" Her voice was fading slowly as she drifted asleep.

"Shh…" I ran my fingers through her dark hair, and soon enough she was asleep.

I looked out at the moon, wondering if Max was already on his way here. I hoped so. I don't know what I would do—what _we_ would do—if we didn't have Max.

"You better come back…jerk," I said to the night sky. The only response I got was silence and the gleaming twinkle from the stars.

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

 **I think we will stop it there for now.**

 **Holy Sheep! 20 pages later… lol I guess I lost myself and just kept going. Probably a good place to stop, though.**

 **What do you think so far? Kinda weird? Good? Bad? I'd like to know so I can get the next chapter posted.**

 **I kind of like how it's going so far. There's a back story to Fang's silence in this story. But that comes in the later chapters!**

 **Until then!**

 **—RFC**


	2. The Fight to Survive

**Thank you so much for the lovely reviews! I'm glad people are liking it. It's something different, and it's still kind of canon to the original storyline… I just changed a few semi-major things.**

 **And just to clarify, I'm using the graphic novels to guide me through this story. That, and like I said, I'm changing things up a little, so nothing is going to be exact.**

 **I've got major twist planned for the future chapters. So stay tuned!**

 **Chapter Two:** The Fight to Survive

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

 **Max**

It just had to be raining, didn't it?

I trudged through the woods, holding my wounded shoulder tightly.

 _'I wonder how long I can stand this…?'_ I thought, wincing at the throbbing pain in my left should and wing.

 _'I can't fly in this rain, especially with my wing busted.'_ I glanced around me and saw a clearing in the trees. Painstakingly, I shrugged off my jacket and tucked my wings behind my back. _'I better hide them and look for shelter from this rain…'_

I dragged my feet for what felt like hours, looking down small allies and spaces between houses for somewhere to rest. I was getting weaker by the minute. And my hunger wasn't helping anything.

Just as I was about to give up and try flying to Lake Mead anyway, busted wing or not, I heard a voice in a years nearby.

"Come on, Magnolia! Make it fast!"

I turned and saw that girl from earlier, the one who was being bullied by those jerks. She was standing outside with her dog, holding a pink umbrella over the both of them.

"You don't want to get wet, do you?" she asked her Pug, turning at lead them both back inside and out of the rain.

This was going to be very selfish of me, but I don't have any other options. It's either ask this girl for help, or die in this shitty weather.

I took a few steps closer. "H-Hey…um…Ella?"

She stopped, and so did the dog. "Who…?" She looked around for the source and when she spotted me, she smiled. "Oh, it's you! Thanks so much for helping me. I—"

As I got closer, she saw my current state and gasped a hand flying to her mouth. "Oh, my God… Is that blood?"

I flashed a nervous smile. "Yeah. One of the shots managed to clip me…"

Her and Magnolia ran over to me. She must not be squeamish about blood, because she came right up to me and look a closer look. Then with the hand that was holding the dog's leash, she grabbed the sleeve on my right arm and lead me toward the house.

"Why didn't you go to the hospital? We have to get you inside, quick!"

I took a second to make a mental note: she talks almost as fast as Nudge…

Her and nudge would get along really well.

As soon as they were through the door and it was shut behind them, Ella dropped the leash and umbrella by the doorway and ran off.

"Mom, Mom! This guy needs help!"

Seconds later, Ella reappeared. Right behind her was a woman with dark brown hair and kind eyes.

"Mom, this is…erm…"

"Max," I finished for her, just realizing that I never gave Ella my name.

Ella's mom quickly noticed the blood pouring from my shoulder and rushed over to. If I wasn't so weak and shaking, I would have been more cautious. But there was something about these two… Something I could explain.

"Yeah! Max is the one I told you about from earlier," Ella went on. "He rescued me from José and Dwayne and them."

Her mom barely seemed to be listening as she examined my shoulder. When she did acknowledge Ella, it gentle and sweet, despite the urgency in her voice.

"Ella, go get my first aid kit and some juice for Max."

"Okay!" Ella ran down the hall and disappeared.

Ella's mom put her hand on my lower back, gently guiding me over to a comfy-looking chair. I hesitated to sit. It looked so nice and clean. And I was anything by clean.

Despite my hesitation, she helped me sit slowly. "Don't worry about the chair. Just sit here and relax for a minute."

I nodded. But my body couldn't relax fully; being in a strangers home was a little unsettling. However…

 _'This chair is as comfortable as it looks…'_ my overly tired mind observed.

Then I remembered that she had asked me a question. If I'm going to get her help I probably have to play nice, right?

"Like…Ella said, I, er…got shot…"

"Here's the juice, Mom!" Ella came out of nowhere, a glass of orange juice in hand. As soon as the glass was passed off, she was gone again. "I'm going to get the first aid kit right now!"

I smiled ever-so slightly. _'She really would get along good with Nudge…'_

The glass of orange juice came into view. I looked up at Ella's mom and took the glass. I downed half glass before she could blink.

When I did look up at her again, she was watching me, her arms crossed with hand folded under her chin. She didn't look skeptical or judgmental. Just…worried. Worried about me.

I felt a pang in my heart. No one—aside from the Flock—has worried about me before…

Just as I tipped the glass in my hand back to finish off my drink, she said, "I assume you don't want me to call your parents…"

I swallowed, and then looked down at the now empty glass in my hand. My silence was answer enough.

"…Or the Police either, right?"

I quick glanced at her and then back down. I nodded my head.

Another warm smile. "All right."

She lightly touched my bad arm, avoiding the injured area, and said, "I'm a vet, so I can take a look at your wound. Let's go to the bathroom."

She motioned for me to follow. I slowly got up, leaving the glass—that was now lightly coated in blood—on the small coffee table, making sure it wasn't near anything that looked important.

I followed her down the halls, causally looking at the pictures on the walls and in rooms with the doors left open, all the while looking for any and all emergency escape routes.

"Here." She stopped in motioned for me to go inside. "Can you sit on the edge of the tub?"

 _'Can I? Yes. Will I fall backwards into it? Probably.'_

I took a breath and did what I was told for once, praying to whatever God was up there that I didn't _actually_ fall backwards into the tub.

Once secure on the side of the tub, she looked down at me, a pair of scissors in hand. My heart immediately leapt into my throat.

"I'm going to have to cut your shirt off." She looked at me apologetically. "Would that be okay?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Um…Yes…"

I not so easily slid my jacket off and let it fall into the tub behind me.

"Who long has it been since you got hurt?" she asked as she knelt down on my right side and started cutting the shirt from the bottom upward.

"…About…half a day…" I answered, not entirely sure myself. For all I know I could have been walking around for _more_ than half a day.

She cut the sleeve, too, and peeled the wet shirt away, being extra careful near the wound. Then I was half naked sitting on the edge of a tub in front of a stranger.

…Can we say 'awkward'?

I tried not to blush, but the heat in my cheeks was evident.

"Oh, my… You must have been in a lot of pain." She tenderly touched the area around the wound, a steady expression on her face. "It looks like the bullet just grazed you, which is good, but it's pretty deep and messy…" She trailed off, her hand lifting from my shoulder to reach behind me.

"And…this…"

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"I got the first aid kit!" Ella announced as she came through the door. Then she paused when she saw what was behind me. "What's…that on your back…?"

I had a smart comment on the tip of my tongue, but bit it back.

"Max… What is this?"

I clenched and unclenched my fist, my heart beating harshly. "It's…a wing…"

 _'What the hell am I going to do now? They've seen my wings… They know I'm a freak! I could still run…'_

Ella cautiously drew closer. My 'doctor' stroked her fingers through my features, as if she had to make sure what they were seeing was real. My wings twitch, enjoying being free from my jacket.

"It's…um… _my_ wing…"

Silence.

The longest silence ever in history. And then:

"It…got hurt, too," Ella's mom observed, noticing the blood near the base when my wing connected to my back.

I looked at her in surprise. She didn't look scared or freaked out at all; her and Ella both. They watched in awe as I flittered and stretched my wings, moving the achy muscles.

"Yeah… These are your wings, all right," Ella's mom said softly, taking the longer feathers at the ends of my wings gently in one hand. She smiled kindly, taking in my worried expression. "Don't worry, Max. I think the bullet only nicked the bone a bit. I'll take care of it, so relax."

It was like…magic. Everything she was saying… I knew I could believe her, trust her. And I did exactly what she asked: I relaxed for the first time since this morning.

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

 **Fang**

The night was rough. I didn't sleep much at all, even after Iggy stirred awake and offered to take the next watch. Not that you can really call it a 'watch' when it comes to him. But his hearing is better than ours. He'd know when something was coming before we did.

I kept thinking about Angel, and about why Max hadn't come back yet. Was he hurt? Did he need our help?

I sighed, watching the birds fly freely overhead. My wing didn't hurt nearly as much as yesterday, though it was still a little sore. I was hoping to let it rest more, but when I heard rustling from the cave I knew that wasn't going to happen?

"Fang… Fang, where'd you go?" Nudge's panicked voice came from the cave.

I stood and stretched my arms over my head, working the sore muscles loose.

"I'm sure she's fine, Nudge," Iggy said tiredly.

"Yeah, she probably went from a quick flight," Gazzy reasoned.

But that didn't calm Nudge in the slightest. "Well, what if she got hurt? What if she's stuck somewhere?"

I rolled my eyes. _'If anything, that's Max's current situation; not likely to be mine.'_

"Fang!"

I dropped down from above the cave entrance. "What? I'm not deaf."

Nudge gasped and then quickly gathered me in a hug. "Don't scare me like that! Where did you go? I thought you were gone!"

I sighed and lightly hugged her back. It wasn't worth trying to explain that I went all of ten feet away.

She pulled back, her clinched fist pulled to her chest. "Don't do that again. Don't ever leave me alone—"

Her sentence was interrupted by a very loud, hungry growl. The beast from her stomach made itself known.

Iggy and Gazzy burst out laughing. I smiled, trying not to laugh myself.

She turned on Ig and Gaz. "Sh-Shut up, you two!"

The laughter quieted and Gazzy said while wiping tears from his eyes, "I-I think I saw…a burger joint about a mile back."

Iggy stood, still smiling from Nudge's embarrassment. "Well, sounds good to me."

I nodded, stretching my wings. Without any motivation needed, we took to the sky and headed for a source of food.

Just like Gazzy said, there was a burger place not face from Lake Mead, and it looked like there were plenty of 'old' burgers in the dumpster for us to choose from.

"Woo Hoo! Food!" Gazzy barely had his feet on the ground by time he was picking burgers up from the top and passing them out to us.

"Well, it's not the fanciest way to pick your meals," Iggy said, taking a burger from Gazzy, sniffing it. He shrugged. "'Beggars can't be choosers.'"

Nudge declined his offer, and instead peered into the dumper. "I think after watching those hawks tearing small animals apart—Oh! There's a salad. I'll take that." She rummaged for a minute as the rest of us bite into our cold, slightly stale burgers. "Sweet! Guys, there's pies, too! Jackpot!"

We all ate our till of burgers, fries, and whatever else we could find. I don't think we've eaten that good in months.

Lately we've had to scrounge for food wherever we could, and had to start rationing because we were running out of money to spend on food. I was sure that was part of the reason Max was so out of it yesterday. He's just trying to take care of us…

"Fang?"

Nudge drew me from my thoughts. I looked over at her, raising a brow.

She lifted her arm and pointed at a road sign in the distance.

"That's the name we saw in the papers from yesterday!" She bolted up suddenly, already unfurling her wings. "I'm going there!"

And with that, she took off.

I almost choked on the food in my mouth. "N-Nudge! Get back here!"

"Nudge!" Gazzy called out, him and Iggy standing up, too.

I reached out and tapped Iggy on the back of his hand. The three of us took to the sky after Nudge.

She looked back, pure determination on her face. "I memorized the address! I'm going to look for my parents!"

"Nudge, that's crazy! Come back!" Iggy yelled, panic in his voice. He seemed just as nervous about this situation as I was. She had a big head start on us. Even when we did catch up, it would be too late to drag her back.

"I'm going!" she called without stopping for slowing down. "And none of you can stop me!"

 _'I've got a bad feeling about this…'_

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

We had been looking for the address Nudge apparently memorized for almost two hours, searching up and down the streets. I was getting irritated, and being on the ground in an unknown area made me nervous. I constantly kept an eye out, always looking back to make sure there was no one following us suspiciously.

"Nudge, I think it's time to give this up," I said, shoving my hands in my pockets. I casted a glance at the sketchy-looking trainer she was heading for.

"Yeah, Nudge," Gazzy agreed. "What if they moved?"

Iggy stayed quiet, cocking his head from time to time, listening intently.

She turned around, glaring at us. "If you guys didn't like the idea so much, why did you even follow me?!"

I almost rolled my eyes. "You told me not to leave you alone. Tears and all."

She turned away, frustrated.

I sighed. "You don't want to hear this…" I started to say, but Iggy stepped in.

"What if they don't want you back?"

She stopped dead in her tracks. Iggy's words came out harshly, but they spoke worlds of truth.

"Even if you weren't a test-tube baby—which you probably were—what if they gave you up for a reason?" By the look on his face, Iggy had been thinking the same thing about his own 'parents' for a while now.

There was a long pause. Then:

"Do you really think…I haven't already thought of that?" she said quietly. I could tell by her voice that she was crying again. She turned, the tears in her eyes confirming my suspicions. "I know that! But I have to try! I mean, if there was the slightest chance, wouldn't you try?!"

When Iggy and Gazzy didn't answer, she turned her tearful eyes to me. "Fang? What about you? Would you jump at the chance to find out the truth?"

 _'I don't know if I would actively look for someone who could or could not be my parents… I don't know that I would want to go back.'_

After a long moment, I said, "I don't know."

"That's because you don't need anyone or anything, Fang," she said harshly, wiping her eyes.

"Nudge, that was mean!" Gazzy said, taking in the steeled expression on my face. They knew that normally meant I was hiding how I truly felt about something.

Nudge sighed, ignoring Gazzy. "But I'm not like that. I'm not strong like you are… I need people. I need…this."

 _'Nudge…'_

Suddenly, the door to the trailer swung open. We ducked behind a beat up truck, watching as a woman with the same skin tone and Nudge walked out of the trailer. She lit a cigarette that rested between her lips, looking miserable about something.

Nudge stared wide-eyed. "Do…Do you think that's my mom?"

Before I could think to answer, I heard movement behind us. I could smell their odor—it suddenly hit me like a freight train.

"Looking for something, freaks?"

We didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

They found us…

"A-Ari…?" Nudge whimpered.

He looked up at what we were spying on and then chuckled. "I guess you found it."

Ari raised his fist to swing at the closest bird-kid to him—which just so happened to be Gazzy, who was frozen in fear. Just as his fist came down I shoved him aside. Ari's fist went _through_ the door of the truck.

A short, sharp whistle left my lips, signaling everyone to get away and get in the air.

Iggy grabbed Gazzy and quickly did just that.

Nudge, however, was frozen. Ari and his goons stood before us, cornering Nudge and I without an escape. She stared at the snarling, furry beasts before us, pity in her eyes. She was afraid, for sure, but her kind heart always got the better of her.

"Nudge! Fang! Get out of there!" I heard Iggy call us from above, but I couldn't risk taking my eyes off Ari.

Nudge put a hand to her chest. "Ari…what did they do to you…? I'm so sorry."

"Save your pity for yourself," he growled. "I'm exactly who I want to be. And I've got some news for you." A sickening smile formed on his lips, exposing his sharp, pointy teeth.

"Max won't be joining you. He seems to have had an…unfortunate accident. He's dead, and he's not coming to save you!"

My jaw fell open in a silent gasp. I felt my eyes go wide, my heart pounding in my chest from the adrenaline.

Max… Dead…?

 _'No.'_

"L-Liar…" Nudge choked out, unconsciously agreeing that it couldn't be true.

Ari snapped a hand out and grabbed Nudge by the face, his claws digging into her cheek.

"Yum." He licked his lips and chuckled. "Little brown piglet…"

I used all the force in my legs and put as much momentum as I could into my body weight and slammed into Ari, knocking Nudge free of his grasp. Ari flopped hard to the ground.

"Nudge, go!"

One of Ari's buddies made a grab for me, leaving Nudge an opening to get away. She opened her wings and within seconds she as in the air. The Eraser that grabbed me from behind wrapped his meaty arm tight around my neck. I fought and kicked, but that only pissed them off more.

Ari loomed over me then, still in his buddy's clutches. The hatred I saw in his eyes was evident; if looks could kill, I'd be dead.

"You're going to pay for that!" he roared.

"Hah—!" I cried out as his large fist connected hard with my stomach, almost making me lose my breakfast. I fell to my knees, using one hand to stay up, the other wrapped around my gut. But he wasn't done. He kicked my side sending about 5 feet in another direction. I rolled a couple times, and when I stopped, I groaned and tried to sit up, but my body wouldn't listen.

I tasted blood in my mouth, and spit it to the side. I felt the ground shake behind me as he stepped over my body, grabbed a chunk of hair at the back of my head, and yanked me up off the ground.

"Aah!"

I cracked open an eye, watched as Ari raised his claws to take a chunk out of me. "You're dead, freak! Just like your precious Max!"

Crap. Was this it…?

"Who are you calling freak?!"

"Why don't you take a look in a mirror, dog-boy!"

Suddenly a full can of paint came out of nowhere and hit Ari square in the head. He roared and immediately dropped me. Before I could catch a breath, Nudge swooped in, grabbed me around the waist, and high-tailed it back up into the sky.

"Go!" she called to the other two.

Iggy and Gazzy were hovering nearby, high-fiving each other. Iggy had another paint can in one had, ready to pass it to Gazzy, who I assumed threw the first one while Nudge grabbed me. When Nudge called for them to scram, they did just that.

Before we could get far, I heard the distinct sound of the cocking of a gun. I looked down and saw Ari pointing it right at me and Nudge.

 _'Shit!'_

Just as it fired I shover her to the side, and the bullet (thankfully) passed between us.

That displeased Ari greatly, judging by the look on his ugly mug. "I'll get you!"

Without another glance back, we were gone.

Now a safe distance away, I spit more blood out and wiped my mouth with my sleeve. It was black, so it wasn't going to show.

"Fang…" Nudge said, worry and regret written on her face.

I shook my head. "Don't worry about. You're just a kid…"

She looked at me worriedly, and then nodded. We flew back to the caves. And I hoped that Ari wasn't going to show up there, too.

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

 **Max [at the time Fang is sitting over the cave]**

I slowly opened my eyes, rubbing the sleep from my vision.

 _'What…?'_

I looked to my left and saw… Well, I didn't know where I was!

I sat up quickly, sending the blanket that was placed over me to the floor. I instantly regretted the sudden jerky movement when my wound throbbed painfully.

I groaned and gently touched the bandaged area. That's when I remembered that I wasn't at home sleeping in the comfort of my own bed. I was…at Ella's…sleeping on her mom's couch. They offered the guest bed at the end of the hall, but I declined, saying that the couch was fine. I don't think they understood why, but it was just in cade I had to leave in a hurry.

"Max, you're awake! Did you sleep well?

Startled again, I looked over and noticed Ella at the door. I looked like she was putting her shoes on.

"Uh…yeah. Thanks," I said.

That's when Dr. Martinez, Ella's mom, came in from another doorway.

"Bye!" Ella waved to us. "I'm off to school! I'll see you later!"

Her mom waved and smiled kindly, and then Ella was gone. Dr. Martinez turned her kind smile to me. I couldn't help but smile back. Last night she told me that her name is Valencia Martinez, but that I could call her Val or Dr. M. She's a veterinary surgeon at works for a large veterinary office.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, nodding her head toward the kitchen. "There's some breakfast left for you."

I nodded more times than needed, but my stomach was practically eating itself.

She laughed and headed for the kitchen.

I gently swung my feet over the side of the couch and stood up. I realized I was still in my jeans from last night, which were now dry, though still dirty. The shirt I was wearing wasn't mine, and from what I could tell Ella's father wasn't around.

 _'So who's…?'_

I quietly patted into the kitchen, which smelled heavenly. I took a deep breath.

Dr. M giggled lightly. "Have a seat. I'll fix you a plate."

I did as she told me (again) and sat at a stood. She set a plate full of pancakes and what kinda looked like a salad in front of me. "Dig in!" she said happily.

Half the stack of pancakes were gone before she could blink. I felt her eyes on me and realized that I didn't have very good table manners. I awkwardly cleared my throat, fighting back a blush of embarrassment.

She laughed. "Try the breakfast salad. It balances out the sweet of the syrup from the pancakes."

I timidly took some on my fork and put it in my mouth. My face must have been priceless, because she laughed lightly again.

Dr. M took a seat across from me, put her elbow in the count and her chin in her hand. I was just about done with my food when she asked, "So, if you don't mind my curiosity, can you actually…fly with your wings?"

I made sure to swallow. "Well…yeah. My bones are thinner and lighter. And I ate more often then normal people."

"Really?" She seemed my fascinated then surprised, which urged me to continue.

"Yeah. And even though I eat a lot, I don't weigh more than a hundred pounds."

She smiled. "Most girls would kill to be able to eat all the time and weight that much," she joked.

I grinned. "My heart is more efficient, and I have extra muscles and bigger lungs."

She nodded, and then said, "You're not out there alone, are you? Are there other like you?"

I stopped chewing and looked away. _'I can't tell her there are others… It's bad enough that she knows about my wings.'_

Noticing my discomfort with the question, she switched the conversation. "So…'Max'. Is it short for something?"

I swallowed again. "Erm…yeah. Maximus. Maximus Ride. I gave it to myself."

"I see."

A silence passed over us. I placed my fork on my empty plate.

"Max. Can I ask…how…this happened?"

The question struck hard and deep. I closed my eyes. Immediately images from my past flashed in the back of my mind. The ghost of the pain I've experienced…the torture we all went through…

When I opened my eyes again, she looked as though she regretted the question.

After a deep breath I said, "I don't remember."

"O-Oh. I see… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." She looked at me apologetically.

I shrugged, and stood from my stool. "Thanks for…helping me. And for the food. I…should probably go."

This surprised her. "Already?"

I nodded. "I've got somewhere I need to be." I couldn't say too much, otherwise she'd worry. I don't know why, but I…didn't want to make her worry.

"Can I give you a ride?"

I smiled sheepishly, shaking my head. "No…uh, I need to…you know, fly there." I felt my wing twitch in protest. "But…I don't think I can yet."

She crossed her arms over her chest, looking thoughtful. "As of now I can't tell you the full extend to your injury. I could get a better idea of what we're dealing with if I could get an x-ray."

"Do you have x-ray vision?" I asked, raising a curious brow.

After a moment to process what I'd said, she busted out laughing. "No, no! Nothing like that!" She giggled some more making me feel stupid for asking. She smiled. "But some of us have access the x-ray machines."

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

It wasn't a long drive to the veterinary office Dr. M worked at. When I got out of the car I looked up at the tall, shiny building before me. I felt a huge lump form in my throat as she lead me inside.

"Hi, guys!" Dr. M greeted as she walked in.

"Hi, Dr. Martinez," I few greeted back.

"This is a classmate of Ella's. He's doing a report about veterinary medicine, so I thought I'd give him a quick tour."

As she chatted with people in the office, I was having a mini panic attack. Everywhere I looked there were medical supplies and people in white coats. The sickeningly sterile smell… The clipboards and folders of documents…

"Max?" Dr. M whispered. I felt her hand on my shoulder as my body started shaking.

She quickly steered me in a different direction, putting on a face smile for everyone around us. "Shall we go to the exam room first? This isn't the dentist, so there's no reason to be afraid."

She opened the room to an exam room, all but pushed me inside and slowly closed the door behind us. Mean while I was freaking out, trying to get the images out of my head. I was trying hard to not let my surroundings get the better of me, but it was…too hard. This place was foreign but…all too familiar.

"Max, what's wrong?" she asked, placing a steady hand on my back.

"It's the smell," I said with a shaky voice. "The chemical smell—like a lab. The guys in the white coat…" I shuddered. "I…I need to get out of here. Can we just go?"

She grabbed my shoulder and forced me to look at her calm, reassuring face. "I promise you, you're safe here. Can you stay just long enough for me to get a quick x-ray?" she motioned to an open doorway with an x-ray machine in it. "After that we will leave right away."

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

 **Fang**

Once back at the caves with the hawks, we all hunkered down and stayed low, just in case Erasers were coming after us. Iggy and Gazzy were talking about their latest 'creation', though I tuned most of their conversation out. The less I knew, the better.

Nudge sat with me at the mouth of the cave in silence. She probably still felt bad about what happened back at the trailer, but I didn't care. She's young; she'll learn that sometimes we forgive and forget. Or, if you're a mutant kid created by mad scientists who are now trying to kill, you don't.

"Fang… Do you think Max is…really dead?" She asked like she already knew the answer, but we just hoping she wasn't the only one that thought it.

I hesitated answering. Did I hope Max wasn't dead? Of course. Could it…be possible? Who knows? The School is capable of anything.

"I…don't think so."

She sighed, as if my confirmation soothed her.

"We still have to try and save Angel." She sniffled. "Poor Angel…"

I reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing it lightly.

I was worried, too. Who knows what terrible things they're do to her. And, on top of that, she probably things we weren't coming after her.

'Damn it, Max! Where—?'

"Uh…Fang?"

Gazzy was point up at the sky. There was a figure flying through the air, coming right toward us. Looking more closely, it was…

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

 **Max**

I shrugged on my jacket and stretched my wings out. I sighed, ready to get back in the air.

"How's it feel?"Dr. M asked, still looking a little worried.

I smiled. "It feels good. My shoulder is all healed up, too."

Both her and Ella looked at me, surprised.

I shrugged nonchalantly. "We heel super fast."

Dr. M handed me a small bag. "Here. Take this." I was about to protest, but she just shoved it in my hands. "It…was my late husband's. Please. I have no use for it."

'That would explain the shirt I'm wearing…'

"There's granola bars in there, and a made a fresh batch of cookies." I smiled in thanks. I slung it on my back, being mindful of my wings. "And Max?"

I turned to them, but was bombarded by the two of them hugging me. Ella wrapped her arms around my waist, and Dr. M wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

"Your secret is safe with us," she promised. "I left my number in the front pocket of the bag. Please…call if you need anything."

I smiled warmly, touched by their kindness. "Thank you. For everything."

Once I was free from their grasp, I took a running start and launched into the sky. I glanced back to see them waving.

"Good bye," I said quietly to no one in particular. Their smiling faces almost ripped me in half. "We'll…probably never see each other again."

I closed my eyes, letting the wind take away any regret. With a deep breath I opened my eyes and poured on the speed, head straight for Lake Mead.

 _'Angel… I'm finally on my way!'_

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

It took me less than a half hour to get to Lake Mead. While flying overhead, I didn't see any sign of the others.

"Am I too late…?"

I glanced around the top of the mountain peaks that surrounded the lake. "Did they ever make it here? What if—?"

"Max!"

Before I knew what was happening, I was being tackled by Gazzy and Nudge. Their sheer force nearly knocked me out of the sky. They laughed as they both enveloped me in a huge group hug.

"Max! Max!" Nudge cheered, pulling away. She (of course) had tears in her eyes. "I can't believe it! _Can_ I believe it?"

I laughed at her excitement.

Iggy slapped me on the back with surprising perfect aim. "I'm glad you're not dead?"

I raised a brow. "Did you doubt me that much?" Another thought occurred to me. "And are you sure you're blind?" I asked, rolling my mostly healed shoulder.

He laughed, waving a hand in front of his face. "Yep. Pretty sure."

"Then try acting like it." I grinned and flicked him on the forehead.

There was a tap on my other shoulder, and when I turned to look at Fang…

She punched me square in the chest. I hurt, but I could tell she didn't put her full force into it. The strike caught me off guard, and for a second I thought she had gone crazy. But when I looked at her…she was mad. The emotion that flooded in her eyes for that split second were gone now, but I saw it there. Like, completely pissed off, kind of mad. Anger and fear; that wasn't the first time I'd seen that look in her eyes, but I hoped I'd never see it again.

She was mad that I felt them. She was angry that it took so long for me to get back. Most of all…she was afraid that I wasn't ever coming back. Just like Jeb.

I sighed and folded my arms over my chest, pretending that I didn't just read her like a book. "Feel better?"

She took a deep breath. The emotions that blinked over her face for a split second were gone, now replaced her usual blank expression.

"What took you so long?" she finally asked.

If Fang was like Nudge, I would have gotten an earful of pissed off avian kid with an already testy attitude.

I point to the cave just below us. "Let's go down there, and then we'll talk."

The others, who looked as though they witness something they shouldn't have, took nose dives toward the cave. Before Fang could leave, I grabbed her wrist. I don't know if she felt the sudden electrical surge I felt when I grabbed her, but if she did she didn't show it.

"Hey."

She stopped, and we hovered there for a second. She looked over her shoulder at me, showing no sign of expression.

"I'm sorry," I said, trying to sooth her anger. "I… Things didn't go as planned. I got…hurt and I needed time to recover."

She didn't say or do anything. And then I followed her tense gaze to the t-shirt Dr. M gave me that could be seen due to the fact that I never zipped up my jacket.

Using solely the power in her wings, she turned to me just enough for her to reach out and lightly grab the fabric of the dark blue t-shirt. She rolled it in her fingers for a second, and then looked up at me.

"Blue is not your color."

What was that expression on her face? I don't think I'd ever seen it before.

I opened my mouth to say something, but she was gone—suddenly dropped like a rock and headed for the cave entrance.

I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I've got some explaining to do…"

Once in the cave, I rummaged through my bag (which Fang also eyed keenly) and pulled out a plastic bag of cookies. Everyone's eyes lit up, and I'm sure that I saw drool coming from Gazzy's open mouth. Giving them free-reign, half the bag was gone before I even started talking.

I told them about helping Ella, and getting shot at; all the way to when I got the x-ray.

Fang's eyes bugged out. "You got an x-ray?"

I nodded. "Details later. And I found out that…" I touched the spot on my upper arm. "I have a micro chip implanted in my arm."

I got showered with bits of chocolate chip cookie, thanks to Gazzy, Iggy, and Nudge. Fang coughed lightly.

"Yeah." I brushed the cookie and (possible) split off my jacket. "It showed up on the x-ray. I'm not positive, but this could be how the Erasers found us at the house. Which also means they'll probably be here soon."

"But it doesn't explain why it took four years to hunt us down," Iggy pointed out.

I nodded. "Right. And I don't know if any of you have one, too, but there may not be a 'safe zone' for us anymore. They could track us anywhere."

The looks on their faces are like they got slapped by reality. We weren't playing 'house' with Jeb anymore. This is out life. Being hunted like prey.

"But that doesn't change anything—none of it matters. We've wasted enough time here."

I stood grabbed my pack and stood up, slipping it on my back. They all did the same, looking as ready as they'll ever be.

"Let's go get Angel back!"

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

 **Well, there's another chapter done! Do you like it? I'm going to start straying away from the original plot line, so hold on to your hats!**

 **The chapters should be coming a little more frequently; I've gotten a major head start the last couple of days.**

 **Please continue to review! They inspire me!**

 **Thank you!**

 **—RFC**


	3. Narrowly Escaped, Yet Still Trapped

**Here's another! Can anyone pick up on the hidden meaning behind the chapter name? I actually put some though into this one.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter Three:** Narrowly Escaped, Yet Still Trapped

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

 **Max**

If I heard 'Max, I'm hungry' one more time, I was going to go crazy. Seriously, it was like they timed it perfectly so one of them reminded me at least once every ten minutes! So, that's how we would up at a small burger joint in a random town on the way to Death Valley. (Am I the only one that sea the irony?)

When I was rummaging through the bag Dr. M gave me back in the cave at Lake Mead, I found her phone number, just like she promised—at a small wad of cash! I might have to call her just to thank her. It was enough to get us the food we need for all 5 of us.

I watched as everyone ate to their heart's content. Fang was on my left, finishing her second burger. Iggy, Nudge, and Gazzy were across from us, in that order. Iggy slurped his drink until it was almost gone. Nudge was just finishing her large fry. The Gasman tried to steal some of Iggy's fries, but it didn't work out for him.

 _'At least they aren't complaining anymore,'_ I thought, smiling lightly.

When the door to the burger joint opened, I didn't think anything of it. Just another customer coming to enjoy some food. I popped another fry in my mouth and just so happened to glance to my right.

I nearly choked on my fry. A shiver ran down my back.

 _'Erasers! They found us already! I saw an exit door behind me when we sat down…'_

They weren't in their scary, furry form. But the two of them were dressed in nice suits. Ari was one of them.

"Fang…" I whispered.

She nodded. She must have noticed them, too.

With the toe of my boot, I tapped each of their shins across the table.

"Don't look up," I warned. "In three seconds, jump over Fang and out that exit door. Then a U and A."

I was so proud of them. They didn't respond to anything I said (although, any other time that would have annoyed the crap out of me). After three seconds, they each jumped on the table, over me and Fang, and made a break for the door.

As soon as they were clear, Fang and I sprang up two. Just then, three more Erasers stormed in.

 _'Damn! There's no end to these guys!'_

The other Eraser what came in with Ari tried to grab the back of Nudge's shirt.

"Oh, no you don't!" I slammed him into the wall, though it wasn't too effective because he recovered and grabbed Fang's arm and twisted it behind her back.

"Damn it! They're out here, too!"

Gazzy's voice could be heard from right outside the door, and just after Nudge made it out, I heard her scream.

 _'Oh, no.'_

I ran to the door and saw an Eraser grab Nudge by her ankle as she tried to jump in the air.

Nudge yelled to me. "Max! Behind you!"

Suddenly, I felt what I could guess was a below slam into the back of my head.

I went down on one knee, seeing stars. I noticed two Erasers had Fang pinned against the wall. She did not looked pleased about it either.

When I looked up at Fang to see if she was okay, Ari brought his fist down on the side of my face. Blood pooled in my mouth. Then he grabbed the back of my head and gave a hard, swift punch to my gut. Blood flew from my mouth and splattered on the floor. I hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.

I heard Fang still struggling to get free, though I don't think she was making progress.

Ari knelt down next to me, taking a hand full of my hair in his hand and lifted my head up. His smirking face was enough to make me sick to my stomach.

"It's almost like you don't want to go back to school," he said, chuckling. "But you don't get a choice."

He stood up and two more Erasers grabbed me and yanked me up. Ari had his hands on his hips like he had just accomplished something great.

"We're going home!" he announced. "Just like old times!"

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

Needless to say, the place where we 'grew up' was not a pretty place. And the fact that it was located in the middle of a place called Death Valley just makes in ironic. When I woke up locked in a crate, I didn't have any doubts about where we were.

The School.

"Max, are you awake?"

I lifted my head—which was pounding from the beating I took from Ari. My vision finally focused and I saw—

"A-Angel…"

"At least they gave you a big crate," she said, smiling lightly. "I got a medium one."

I reached my hand through the bars of my cage and grabbed her small one.

"Angel… I've missed you."

I looked at the state it she was in… It wasn't good. They got to her.

 _'I'm too late… I'm so sorry, Angel.'_ I squeezed her hand.

"Me too, Max," she said.

I felt my anger flare, my hated for this place and these people suddenly made me feel like I could take on the world. How could they do this to us? How could they do this to Angel—to any of the other young, innocent kids that were trapped here?

Angel squeezed my hand. "It's not your fault. Don't worry about it so much."

My anger died down, hearing her sweet voice. She was trying to calm me down, trying to sooth my hate and fears.

"Angel."

"Max. There's something I have to tell you."

I smiled. Anything to hear her voice, and to keep hearing it. "Sure… Tell me anything."

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, flooding a bright light into the dark room. Blinded for a moment, I squinted, trying to see who was coming in. When my eye did finally adjust, I wish I hadn't seen what I saw…

Jeb Batchelder.

He's alive.

And he's back working for The School.

He walked up to my crate, knelt down in front of me, and said, "Hello, Maximus. How are you feeling?"

"Tsk." I glared at him, and start to slowly sit up in my crate. I had so much to say—so much to ask. But I couldn't get over the fact that the man—the father—I'd grown to worship was standing in front of me after being 'dead' for two years.

I realized just how long I must have been sleeping; my aches and pains were still there. But for the most part I felt good. And it was feel really good to punch someone in the face right now…

Once I was fully up, sitting ton my legs and leaning forward to grasp the bars, and glared at him. I poured all of the hate and anger I could into my stare, If looks could kill…

"Do you want to know what I think?" I asked, though I didn't wait for him to respond. "I think you were better off dead."

He just stared at me, though I could see his fake smile faulted slightly.

I had to be hallucinating.

This man had kidnapped the six of us four years ago; stole us away from this freak show. He hid us in mountains and fed us and clothed us. Like a parent. He taught us how to read, how to ti fight, how to _survive_.

"I'm so proud of you, Max."

But then he disappeared two years ago . We'd always known he'd been killed, and the horrible, aching, wailing pain of missing just didn't stop. It was like losing a parent.

"So healthy, so powerful, such a good leader… It makes me so proud."

Dead of alive, he'd been my parent; a part of our family. In truth, I've missing him so much. His guidance and kind words. Tucking me in at night after every one else was already asleep. Ruffling my hair when I did something that made him proud.

"You must have so many questions… I don't even know where to start."

But now, my eyes were telling that he was one of them. That maybe he'd one of them all along.

"Trust me," he said, touching my hand wrapped tightly around the bars of my cage—the cage he put me in. I withdrew my hand like he'd electrocuted me. "That's all I ask. Trust me, and listen to your gut."

Was he serious?! Trust him? After the heartache and pain he's put us through?

"I do have one question for you," I said, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, reining in my anger. When I looked at him again, I made sure I was looking him right in the eye, showing just how badly he hurt me—hurt _us_. How badly he defrayed us.

"Did you ever care about us, or love us for any reason other than being your 'greatest creation'?"

The question hung in the air. I felt everyone's eyes on me, but I didn't care. I didn't to see Jeb's reaction—to know if he felt about us the way we felt about him.

After a long pause, He smiled again and said, "Of course I love you, Max. You are going to be the greatest thing this world has ever seen."

I sighed and sat back from my bars. "Well, I guess I got the answer I was looking for."

Jeb stood and turned to leave. "You'll see in time, Maximus. You were created for one reason. You were kept alive for a reason—a very special reason. And that reason…"

I looked back at me, and in complete seriousness, said:

"You're meant to save the world."

Then the door closed, plunging us into darkness.

…Excuse me?! What the hell is that supposed to mean? Save the world?

My mind was reeling, going through everything that's happened in the last few days; why The School wanted us back all of a sudden, Ari being an Eraser, Dr. Martinez and Ella, Jeb's betrayal, and…saving the world.

I put my head in my hand, massaging my forehead.

"You okay?" Angel asked.

I nodded. Though I don't think she believed it. She was probably trying to read my mind, but I had thrown my bind blocks up during the 'conversation' with Jeb.

"Everyone hang in there, though."

I glanced at Fang, asking a silent question if she was good. She nodded once.

"How are your wounds? You were out for a long time…"

I flashed her a small smile. "I'm really okay, Nudge." I doubt she believed me either.

Even though it was almost pitch black, once my eyes adjusted I looked around the room we were in. There were multiple cages, but I was pretty sure we were the only ones here. I noticed a camera in every corner of the room—the red light flashed every once in a while to warn that it was recording.

"Where are Gazzy and Iggy?" Angel asked, clearly worried about her brother and our blind companion.

I shrugged, nonchalantly. "I don't know."

Angel pulled her knees to her chest, tears brimming her eyes.

I opened my mind to her, pulling down the blocks.

 _'They're alive—they got away,'_ I told her. _'We're being watched, so just read my mind for now, okay?'_

She gave no notion that she heard me.

What did they put her through? What twisted experiments did the force on her? Did they hurt her badly; probe her brain to see how her telepathy worked? I couldn't bare thinking that they tortured her like they did us—the ones who were deemed old enough to go through the torture.

 _'No, nothing like that,'_ she finally answered.

 _'Angel?'_

 _'They made me run through a maze without breaks. I did it six times a day for an hour. It wasn't that mad…'_

I clenched my first. I took a deep breath.

 _'I'm sorry, Angel.'_

 _'It's okay, Max. I'm okay.'_

We sat in silence for a few minutes, and then the door creaked open again. The squeaking noise of a cart could be heard as the door opened.

"Just leave it anywhere," a voice said, one I didn't recognize.

An Eraser, formed into it's ugly form, wheeled a cart with a cage on to the middle of the room for us to see. The cage was left in the room and the Eraser and White Coat left again.

I almost gasped. Whatever was in the cage…was barely breathing. I was covered in slimy, green skin. It had a few extra limbs protruding from various places of its looked like it what the start of what could be wings on it's back.

It…used to be a kid. Just like us.

Angel let silent tears roll down her cheeks. I heard a choked sob from Nudge's cage. Fang looked at me and then closed her eyes, turning away. I also turned my back to the poor creature-kid. The only sound that could be heard were the slithery movements of the mutant, and it's labored breathing…which eventually stopped.

Those monsters.

It was about an hour later before the lights came on and the door opened again. Careless humming could be heard as more Ari, with one of his buddies and a few White Coats, came through the door.

"Let's get to work~!" the female White Coat said in a sing-song voice smiling like she didn't have a care in the world. She looked down at the cage with the dead mutant. "What's this?"

"Looks like it's dead," another White Coat answered robotically.

She shrugged, still smiling brightly. "Oh, well! Not our business."

"Hey there, Maxy," Ari sneered. "Miss me?"

I just glare at him. But when he didn't get the response he was looking for, he an evil grin spread across his face.

He turned away from me and instead approach Fang's cage. It was stacked on another empty cage, putting her at eye level with Ari. She there, leaning against the far back of her cage, he expression giving away nothing as he grew closer.

"How about you, Fang Girl? Did you miss me?"

"Ari…" the female White Coat warned, her hands on her hips. "Just get what we came here for." Her and the other scientists headed toward the door, talking amongst themselves.

He made a noise of disapproval at the White Coat, probably for being told what to do.

Then he turned back to Fang, he's unsettling grin back full force. "Where were we…?"

She just continued to glare at him, pressing her back as far as she could again the bars of her cage.

Without warning, Ari snatched the cage up like her was grabbing a shoe box. The jerking motion caused Fang's body to fling to the right, and smack hard against the bars.

"Fang!"

She sat up, holding her head. But her glare never stopped—now she just looked _pissed_. And a pissed off Fang could be very scary. (I got a small taste of that earlier that day at Lake Mead.)

Ari chuckled. "Awe, did the little birdie hit her head?" He jerked the cage upward and held it above his head.

Fang was flung again, this time to the opposite side of the cage, toward Ari's head. She made a grab for the bars behind her, but wasn't fast enough. She landed on her left side, her hip and shoulder making contact with the bars. The sound of her body hitting metal wasn't pleasant.

Fang grunted, pushing up off the bars.

I gripped the bars of my cage. "Ari!" I tried to get his attention, but he wasn't having it.

Ari licked his lips, his smirk still evident on his face. He brought the cage closer to his face, and took a deep breath. "Smells like chicken…"

Without warning, he dropped her cage on the cart, and it landed with a hard THUD.

"Ah!" Fang cried out from the sudden fall. When she landed, her head cracked hard against the floor of her cage. A moan escaped her lips; her arm fell through the bars of the cage, limp.

"Fang!" Nudge and Angel called; Nudge had tears in her eyes, and Angel looked scared. The other Eraser already had them on a cart and was wheeling them toward the door.

"Damn it, Ari! Leave her alone!" I shook the bars of my crate, desperate now more than ever to get out.

He turned to me, a crazy look in his eye. "What's wrong, Max? Don't like it when I hurt your _girlfriend_?"

He grabbed my cage and both hands and tossed it on top of Fang's. The loud scraping sound as metal hit metal rang in my ears.

I practically growled at him. "Why not beat on me? I'm the one that you hate. I'm the one that replaced you."

That's what made him snap. He roared and reached through the bars on my cage to grab my neck. He brought my face to the bars;I could see the hate, anger and pain that stored in his eyes. I guess I had really struck a nerve…

"Believe me, if I could, I would kill you right here and now," he growled out, squeezing my neck just enough to make me choke. "But…" He let go and stepped around to push the cart. Meanwhile, I coughed up a lung. "Your time will come. Dad may think you're going to save the world, but no one said you had to be alive to do it."

As we followed behind Angel and Nudge, I tried to look down into the cage below mine. All I could see was Fang's hand laying limp throughout the bars.

We were carted outside, though I didn't expect to see the sky again for quite some time. It seemed like we were on the roof of the building, and if I remember correctly, that's where they…

Howls and yips came from every direction. Growls and grunts could be heard for miles.

This was were they kept the Erasers—waiting for feed on innocent mutant freaks.

We stopped near the center of the roof, right over the helicopter pad. Angel and Nudge looked scared as the Eraser that wheeled them out shoved their cages off the cart.

I had to do something to try and sooth them.

"Angel, Nudge. Don't—"

Ari's ugly mug came into view. "Don't what? Don't be scared?" He laughed, though it sounded more like a roar. "You have everything to be afraid of, Max. You know what? I'll take you for a walk…if you beg."

I smirked, still pissed off from earlier. The guy in me took over and before I could stop the words from leaving my lips, I said, "You're the one that's their dog. Why don't you get your leash and beg for a walk yourself."

That did it. He was mad.

He grabbed my cage with like he did Fang's and, with an angry roar, threw me at Nudge's cage. The corner of my cage hit the bars of hers, bringing me to a sudden stop. I hit my head (of course) and Nudge was thrown back from the impact.

I guess I deserved that.

"Ugh…" I groaned.

"Ouch…" Nudge moaned.

And just as I was about to turn around and check on her, my cage was moving again; Nudge was pushing my cage away from hers. It teetered forward and no sooner then it slamming to the ground, Nudge was flying free in the sky.

"Yes!" she cheered, soaring up.

"What the—?" the other Eraser growled.

"You really are one stupid dog!" she called from about ten feet in the air.

I smiled. _'Good. At least one of us is free.'_

Quickly, she swooped back down, heading right for the female scientist. When she saw Nudge coming right for her, the panicked look on her face was priceless.

Our mocha-skinned hero twirled the keys to our crates around on her finger, sticking her tongue out.

 _'That's my girl.'_

Nudge took to the air again, just our of Eraser reach.

"Max!"

She threw the keys as hard as she could, and I could them in mid-air. Quickly, before they could recover, I unlocked my cage and stepped out. The female scientist watched me uneasily as I towered over her. She trembled in fear, and small amount of satisfaction washed over me.

"Thanks," I said simply, barely smiling. And then I took off in full sprint for Angel's cage.

"Get them!" she called, and the Erasers stinted after me.

I felt an Eraser behind me—heard his graveling breathing as if he were right in my ear. I was just a few steps from Angel's cage.

 _'Come on, come on!'_ I silently pleaded. _'Give me 3 seconds… Just get Angel free—just 3 seconds!'_

As if some guy sitting on a gold thrown heard me, huge birds suddenly started attacking the Erasers.

I paused for just a second. _'The hawks…?'_ Then I looked up above the door we came out of.

"Gazzy! Iggy!"

They smiled, looking rather proud of themselves. I felt pride swell in my chest. They gave me the time I needed, and then some. I got to Angel's crate and got the door open.

"Max!"

She felt so fragile in my arms, knowing what they did to her. But she was safe now, and that's all that mattered. When I flew up with Angel, Nudge met me half way, taking her from me. They were both crying happy tears.

"Get higher," I ordered them. "We'll be right there."

Without looking to see if they did what I asked, I dove back down to Fang's crate. The hawks completely ignored me, only attacking the Erasers and scientists. I pondered for a minute how Iggy and Gazzy got the hawks to attack just the White Coats, let alone how they got them to follow them here.

When I reached Fang's crate, she was still unconscious, but I saw a rise and fall in her back.

 _'Still alive. Being tossed around in her crate just knocked her out.'_

I reached in her crate, gently grabbed her and hoisted her toward me. Being mindful of her wings, I wrapped one arm behind her shoulders and the looped the other under the backs of her knees. When I had her in my arms and stood up, she let out a groan and stirred, coming to.

With three long stride I pushed off the ground and took to the air. The others were waiting not far above me.

"Go!" I called to them. "We're right behind you!"

I heard my name being called from below. It was Jeb. a few of the hawks were all over him, but it was like he didn't know they were there.

"You were safe here, Maximus! Come back! This was only a test! I'm the only one you can trust! Please!"

Somewhere in my stone-cold heart I knew that it was just an act to get us back in their clutches. However…part of me wanted to believe him. I had to do what was best for my Flock. And that was to be as far away from The School as we could get. I looked from Angel, who was still with Nudge, to Fang in my arms.

I closed my eyes and sighed.

"I don't think so, Jeb. Not this time."

A few hundred feet into our escape, Fang started to come to. Seeing as though when she opened her eyes she was soaring through the air without flapping her wings, I could understand the confusion in her face. As well as nearly punching me in the face in panic.

I chuckled lightly. "I've got you."

When she noticed how she was flying, I barely looked down at her in time to catch a light blush on her cheeks.

"I'm…fine," she said, her voice low. She was holding her head, eyes screwed shut.

She was clearly lying.

I smirked. "Yeah, I know you are. But, just to be safe, hang out with me for a minute or two."

She shook her head, whether to my comment or to physically shake the heat from her cheeks I couldn't be sure.

"Don't need help. I'm fine, Max," she insisted.

"Too bad, Fang. You're stuck with me."

We watched the Flock fly ahead of us. I had overheard Iggy saw him and Gazzy hung out at the cave with the hawks at Lake Mead when they came up with their—surprisingly—incredible plan. Nudge still held onto Angel, Nudge giving her the details she'd missed in the last few days. My family was safe. They were beaten and probably bruised…but they were alive. All six of us were fine.

Whatever smile was on my face slipped off like butter sliding down the surface of a hot pan.

 _'All of us…except Fang.'_ The thought drill into my brain over and over until I started to get a headache. _'She's hurt because of me…'_

"I'm sorry. You got hurt because of me," I said, voicing my concerns. I automatically clutched her tighter when I thought about how heartless Ari was to her. And what he was more than capable of doing to the others if he ever got the chance.

After scanning my face, she shook her head again. "Not your fault."

I made a sound that could be described as a cross between a laugh and cough. "Yeah, and pigs fly."

She raised a brow, motioning to my wings as they completed a down stroke. I rolled my eyes. "Are you calling me a pig?"

She slid her shoulders up and then down innocently.

I sighed.

"You can tell me _that_ —" I jerked my head over my shoulder, motioning to The School we left in our dust "—wasn't my fault until your blue in the face. It was my plan. I'm taking responsibility, just like any good leader would."

Before we'd set out to get Angel, we needed a plan to get in. Knocking on the front door may have been a joke from Iggy, but it wasn't a bad idea. Get in, get Angel get out. Done. The idea was to purposely get caught. Iggy and Gazzy weren't meant to get away, but I was fine with that. We agreed that if the three of them got free to high-tail it to the cave and wait for us there. Apparently, Iggy and Gazzy were sick of waiting for me, so they took matters in their own hands. I wasn't complaining either. Ari would have his hands around my throat right now if it weren't for the hawks.

"You are a good leader," she commented out of nowhere. I wasn't sure how long we sat in silence, but I noticed that we were already almost back to Lake Mead. "We're your soldiers. We'd die for each other."

My head ached more at the thought of someone in the Flock dying for my sake. It made me sick to imagine it.

" _None of you_ are dying for me to live," I said through clenched teeth. I looked up and watched Iggy and Gazzy laughing, Nudge angrily yelling at them for something they'd said. "Hell will freeze over before I let one of you give up your lives to save me. I'm not worth protecting if I can't keep my solders safe."

That comment seemed to spark something in her. And by that I must have pissed her off somehow. With the speed and swiftness of a cat, she reached behind my back and clamped her hand around my wing. My eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, I needed to do a few down strokes in the next few seconds in order to stay in the air.

"What are you—? Are you crazy? We'll fall right out of the sky if y—"

She cut me off. "Let's see you stop something you can't control."

I saw determination in her eyes—felt it in her grip on my wing. (Trying hard to ignore more how I would like her to stroke my wings more often—though less roughly.) She knew that I would need to beat my wings again soon to stay in the air.

"Drop me," she demanded suddenly.

It was official: she _was_ crazy. "What?! If I dropped you with your wings tucked in they'll rip off your back from the G-force."

My wings itched to push up in the air. A gust came at us, and knocked us off balance, but I managed to right us with my one useable wing.

"Drop me, and you can beat your wings." The gentleness that formed in her words forced me to look into her eyes—dark and warm. "Drop me and trust that I can fly on my own."

I finally got what she was trying to tell me. And she was right: I couldn't protect them forever. If we lived to the point where my family would grow up into young adults, I couldn't keep my eye on all of them at all times. It's exactly how she said—I can't stop something I have no control over.

I had no control over Ari; there was no way for me to know he'd hurt her.

I had no control over The School; I couldn't have predicted that Angel would be kidnapped.

I had no control over anything in our lives. But…at the very least, I knew that we all had to fight to survive. We were a team—a family.

"Hey! Are you guys alive back there?" Iggy called from much farther ahead.

"What are you doing, Fang?" Nudge asked, probably noticing that she had her hand wrapped around the middle bone of my wing.

We both ignored them.

"You can't control the actions of others. Especially Ari's or the White Coats or The School's," she said, the gentle in her voice slowly turning into something like playfulness. Looking down at her again, I saw mischief dance in her eyes. She was plotting something, and I quickly doubted that I was going to like it. "Just like you can't control which way the wind blows."

Suddenly, and none too gently, she yanked down on my wing. A dull pain shot through my back. Even though I should have instinctively tightened my hold on her, she was the one that caused us to instantly drop out of the sky, so my brain said 'screw it'. A cry of surprise almost left me lips, but, honestly, I should have seen that coming a mile away.

I _was_ surprised that she managed to grab the back of my jacket and switch our positions in mid-air—she now had me locked in her skinny, muscled arms. Her hands were clasped tightly together against the center of my chest, making it clear that she didn't have any plans on letting go. She wrapped her legs around mine, though the toes of her shoes only reached the tops of my calves.

The surface of the water spun into my view every once in a while as we tumbled and flipped around like a fish out of water. No pun intended.

"Fang! If we hit the water, it's gonna hurt," I warned, hoping—and then not—that she'd let go. My heart leapt into my throat when I felt her hold me tighter.

When she opened her mouth to speak, this time with her lips a fraction of an inch away from my ear, my breath hitched in my chest. Her voice was just above a whisper, but I heard it clear as bells, even through the wind rushing by us.

"Don't worry. I've got your back."

Then, we hit the water with a loud _SPLASH_.

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

I broke the surface of the water, gasping. Shooting pain of pins and needles cascaded all over my back and legs.

 _'Pain is just a message…'_ I reminded myself. I lightly touched my tingling back under the water, making sure that half of my body was still there. When we neared the surface of Lake Mead, we just so happened to spine so that my body came in contact with the water!

 _''I got your back', she says,'_ I thought bitterly. _'She's just full of all kinds of jokes today. And how the hell did she let go of my back before we hit the water? She's sneaky…'_

I realized two things.

First, the water wasn't that cold, which surprised me. I was fully expecting it to be cold, which would have probably hurt more when we—no, when _I_ —hit the water. Then again, we were coming up on summer, and the weather had been ridiculously warm the last few weeks.

Second, Fang was dead. As in I was going to _drown her_ when I got my hands on her!

Many feelings swarmed my chest then.

Anger, because I was now soaked to the bone—no thanks to Fang.

Relief, because that could have been a lot worse, though it was refreshing to have water 'splashed' in my face—no thanks to Fang.

Joy, because…well, we were alive, right? (I'm just going to blame Fang for that, too. Because I can.)

She was going to pay for proving a point by literally _knocking us out of the sky_. But, I guess it was partly my fault, too. I refused to let go and—

I heard a gasp from not far behind me.

I spun around in the water the best I could, plotting my revenge. I looked to see where Fang had surfaced; about five feet from me, treading water all the while coughing some up from her lungs. When she noticed my movement, she immediately started swimming away.

"Get back here!" I called and started after her. But I didn't make it far.

"Woo Hoo!"

Gazzy cheered and slammed into the water, his body curled into a 'cannon ball'. Not far behind him, another body hit the water—Iggy from what I could tell by the larger blur that crashed nearby.

Nudge and Angel giggled from above. Nudge held her stomach she was laughing so hard.

"Max, if you wanted to go swimming, all you had to do was say so," Nudge croaked between fits of laughter.

I shot her a look. "This wasn't _my_ idea!"

I caught Angel's smiling face and I quickly threw up my mind blocks. Her smile faltered a little, so she must have noticed. I shrugged and started after Fang again. God knows she shouldn't know what just happened with Fang in the air.

"Damn it, Fang!" I called, starting after her again, maneuvering around Iggy and Gazzy as they started trying to splash the girls in the air.

I left them to battle one another. I had my own war the wage, and Fang was my prime target.

"Fang…!"

She looked back over her shoulder and saw that I was following.

Surprisingly, we were pretty evenly watched swimmers—something I never thought to compare, considering we were part bird, not part fish. (Though I now suspect that Fang thinks otherwise.) She was lighter and leaner, her body practically skimming over the water. I was heavier, but I had more muscle and power behind my strokes, propelling me forward.

Soon, we neared the shoreline. Fang, of course, making it there first. She got her feet under her and started trudging through the wading water, stumbling once. I'm taller, so my legs are longer. And even though I was a few paces behind her, it was enough to help me gain on her.

"Get over here!"

As soon as she stumbled, I shook excess water from my wings, and used them to launch myself forward. I snagged her wrist, my hand completely wrapping around the skin there. Because of the momentum from my wing strokes, I started to fly past her. And because I was still holding her wrist, I brought her with me. Together, we rolled a couple times in the wet sand.

Aching all over—yet again—I pushed off the ground and shook my hair out of my face. When I opened my mouth to tell her just how annoying she was, I realized the 'compromising' position we were in. One of my hands dug deep into the sand by her head, the other on the opposite side of her body near her ribcage. Her left arm—the arm I hadn't just had in my grasp just seconds ago—was up above her head; probably to protect her head when we rolled. My knees were planted firmly in the soft sand: one between her own knees, the other near her left hip.

I looked down at her face and immediately noticed her wide, surprised eyes. Shock, confusion, and…something else. It was the same emotion I saw in her eyes when I met up with the Flock earlier today when she noticed my shirt.

He were both breathing heavily from our race up the shore—though my heart was now beating even harder…and for good reason. Her wet cloths clung to her body; small pieces of stray hair stuck to her face. The lips were slightly parted as she panted, cheeks flushed.

I felt a small wave lightly touch my knee and then retreat again. I felt it two more times before either of us moved; before either of us knew what to do. The only thing my mind processed was that Fang was under me, not fighting to get away, and breathing just as hard as I was. I felt her body heat as a small gust of wind rolled over us. My mind short circuited and my body took over. I suddenly really wanted to…

She slowly reached her left hand toward my face, the small movement snapping me out of my trance. Her fingers barely brushing the skin on my cheek. I stayed frozen, becoming more still (if possible) when I felt another small electric shock where our skin touched. When she withdrew her hand, a skinny piece of seaweed dangled between her pointer finger and her thumb.

Her lips parted more to say something, but I had already jump off of her. I moved so fast you would have though she'd punched me and sent me flying. Once I scrambled to my feet, I took two steps back deeper into the water. She sat up, her hands pressed into the sand behind her, one knee bent half way to her chest. She was covered in sand—I knew I was, too.

"That was… I-I mean I…" I tried to form words, but it was like my brain hadn't caught up with what had just occuried. I didn't know what to do or say. When my brain stopped reeling, I managed to stumble through the water, just long enough to plunge back under the surface to get the sand off, and then resurfaced. To be honest, I should have stayed under until I drowned—that would be better than dying of complete embarrassment…

Without a word, I trudged to the shoreline and noticed she was gone. A quick glance to my right revealed she had copied my idea and was now diving back into the water herself. The kids were still playing, though now Nudge was treading water with the boys and Angel was trying to avoid their water assault.

I heard a voice—her voice—call my name as I opened my wings to shake the water from my feathers. But I didn't look her way.

It was hard to fly with the extra weight, but I managed to make it to the cave. I landed in the cave, tucked my wings and leaned my back against the rough surface of the wall. I let my head rest against the rock, barely noticing that the Flock was coming up, too, just as slowly as I was.

 _'What…the hell was I just about to do?'_

Before I could ponder further I put up my blocks and ran hand down my face. I smoothed my expression and took a deep breath.

"Time to get out of here," I said as they got closer. "Dry off and get ready: We're heading east!"

 **-._.-._.-._.-._.-._.-**

 **Not sure how I feel about the end of this one. I didn't expect Fax to show up so early, but I started writing it and went with it. Is it good?**

 **Let me know what you think!**

 **—RFC**


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